Trinity Basketball Falls to Concordia (TX) in NCAA Playoff Game

SAN ANTONIO, Texas - The Tiger men's basketball team
lost an 87-83 game to Concordia (TX) University in the first round
of the NCAA Playoffs on Saturday night.

Trinity fell to 20-8 on the season, while Concordia improved to
24-5. The Tornados are playing in the NCAA Tournament for the
first time in school history, after winning their first American
Southwest Conference Championship last weekend. The Tigers
qualified for the second straight season after winning back-to-back
Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference titles.

The Tigers were able to cut a 14-point lead down to three in the
second half, and had a chance to tie the game with 2:09 to play.
Robert Kitzinger's tying three rimmed out, though, and
Concordia was able to hang on for the win.

Concordia led 49-41 at the half in a fast-paced game that
featured both teams shooting 50% or better from the field.
The Tornados shot 53.6% from the floor for the game, while
Trinity finished at 51.7% shooting.

Zach Lambert led all scorers with 20 points and all players with
10 rebounds for the Tigers. He also led the team with five
assists and two steals, hitting 7-14 from the field and 3-5
three-pointers.

Heath Hopson poured in 17 points on 6-9 shooting off the bench,
collecting five boards as well. Kitzinger hit 4-9
three-pointers on his way to 16 points and eight rebounds, and also
handed out four assists. David Lacey also came off the bench
with nine points in 16 minutes.

Nick Haynes led five Concordia players in double figures with 15
points on the night, hitting 4-8 three-pointers. He scored
seven straight with under five minutes to play to put Concordia up
82-72, but the Tigers rallied to within three a few minutes later.
Dwayne Patterson finished with 14 points, eight rebounds, and
seven assists, while Josh Sanchez had 12 points and nine assists in
the game.

Concordia moves on to face the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor
in the second round of the tournament, while the Tigers are
eliminated from the postseason.

Head Coach Pat Cunningham led Trinity to 20 or more wins for the
eighth time in his 14 seasons with the team, and for the 11th time
in program history. Coach Cunningham has made eight
appearances in the NCAA Playoffs with the Tigers, and has led the
team to six SCAC titles.